


you and me

by lovesickriot



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Developing Relationship, Eventual Romance, Family, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:14:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25430710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovesickriot/pseuds/lovesickriot
Summary: Sokka loved the home he had come to find. Zuko was the closest friend he had ever had, and they understood each other completely. Katara had called it “love”, Aang had called it “companionship”, Toph had called it “gross”.In honesty, he wouldn’t deny being in love with Zuko. He wasn’t even sure if it wasn’t something that had transcended love and reached a state of pure peace and understanding that grew between them not only after fighting side by side, but also while raising Izumi. But he had never acted upon his feelings, knowing Zuko had not only a daughter to care for, but an entire nation to run.And he had made his peace with that. He had found his own little corner of the world, his own little family, that maybe wasn’t what he had expected, but so much more instead.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 98
Kudos: 286





	1. Chapter 1

Sokka made his way through the busy streets, fiddling with the small wrapped object he had in his right hand. He had considered stuffing it in his pocket, or in his bag, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t drop it or lose it. 

Some of the people that passed by him recognized him and offered him a small head bow in recognition, to which he responded with a smile or a small wave, still keeping a hasty pace.

Once he finally arrived, his eyes immediately landed on the small silhouette at the top of the tall staircase, and a grin took over his face. He climbed the steps as quick as he could, his fingers gripping the wrapping a little more tightly, until he reached the top. He bowed to the ten-year-old girl awaiting him there.

“My lady,” he said.

The black haired girl offered him a curtsy in return. “Ambassador.”

Sokka straightened his back just in time to see the girl ditch all formalities to run to him with her arms outstretched. Laughing, he grabbed her by her waist and spun her around. Her giggles were audible until he hugged her tightly and she pressed her face to the curve between his neck and his shoulder.

“Welcome back, dad. I missed you,” she muttered against his skin.

“I missed you too, Izumi.”

He could see from the corner of his eye the two guards who guarded the entrance of the palace exchanging a skeptical look, but he was used to ignoring them. He just wanted to enjoy the little girl’s embrace.

Izumi wasn’t biologically his daughter. In fact, she wasn’t his daughter at all. But he had been there since she was born (well, almost) and loved her like she was his own. Once she had been old enough to talk, she had taken to calling him dad, or daddy if she was feeling a little more affectionate (or if she was about to ask for a new toy), and even though they hadn’t told her she shouldn’t, as she was free to call him whatever she wanted, they tried to reason with her that she should only call him so in private, and stick to Sokka or Ambassador in public.

Sometimes she did that. Most times she didn’t. So Sokka had grown used to judgemental glances and vicious rumors, but, in all honesty, Izumi’s love was worth whatever they threw at him.

She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled back a little so she could look him in his eyes. Her golden irises were sparkling with excitement.

“So?” she asked with a grin that took over her entire face. “Did you bring me a gift?”

Sokka let out an amused chuckle. “I go away for two weeks, and all you care about is gifts? Is that all I mean to you?”

“No, but gifts are definitely a large part of it,” she admitted unashamed.

“I should’ve known.” He playfully rolled his eyes, before burying his face on her neck and blowing against the skin. Izumi’s giggles warmed his heart. “Come on, you little rascal, let’s head inside so I can give you your gift without creating even more of a scandal out here.”

He put her down and she didn’t hesitate to grab his hand and pull him inside. The guards pretended not to be looking at him while he entered, but he could see the scowl on their faces.

“Should I take you to Pa?” Izumi asked.

“How about you open your gift first and then we show him?”

Izumi’s golden eyes lit up with the possibilities of what Sokka could’ve gotten her, and she started pulling him even more urgently towards her chambers. Kaja, Izumi’s governess, was organizing a few books inside, but immediately turned to curtsy once she saw Sokka come inside.

“Ambassador,” she greeted. “I hope you had a pleasant trip.” Then, without waiting for a response, she turned to Izumi. “How many times have I told you not to run off without telling me where you’re going?” she chastised.

Izumi pouted. “But Daddy came home, I had to go greet him!”

“You can still greet him while telling me where you are!”

“Sorry…” Izumi mumbled with a lowered head.

With a sigh, Kaja excused herself, assuming that, with Sokka having barely arrived, he would want to spend the day with Izumi, and left the room with his luggage, probably to find a servant who would take it to his quarters. Izumi immediately jumped on her bed and started bouncing in excitement, and Sokka couldn’t help looking at her tenderly. 

“Gift! Gift! Gift! Gift!” she chanted.

With a chuckle, Sokka moved to sit next to her on her bed and handed her the small wrapped object he had kept in his hand for the whole journey. She didn’t hesitate in tearing the wrapping to get to the small necklace inside. 

A lot of the nobles, and even some servants, threw in his face how Izumi was a princess of the Fire Nation, and, as such, how she should only wear traditional Fire Nation clothing, appropriate for a girl of her status. But even if her biological parents were both Fire Nation citizens, Izumi was Sokka’s as much as theirs, and Sokka was Izumi’s as much as they were. Even if her blood didn’t show it, she had Water Tribe spirit in her. And so Sokka liked to gift her with objects that appealed to his own culture, such as the small blue crystal pendant currently in her hands.

Izumi gasped at the sight of the pendant, and immediately threw her arms around Sokka’s waist.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his blue tunic.

Sokka pulled her into his lap so he could hug her back tightly. He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. As an Ambassador, part of his duties included travelling all over the world to settle disputes or start negotiations, which at first he hadn’t minded--in all honesty, he had welcomed the travel, after having grown used to it, as it had made him restless when in one place for too long. Now, with Izumi, he did leave on his journeys with a heavy heart, knowing he was leaving her behind, but it just made the reunions all the more sweet.

He took the necklace from her hands and helped her put it on, telling her how beautiful she looked with it. Izumi blushed.

“Let’s go show your Pa now, yeah?” he suggested. “Where is he?”

Izumi didn’t reply, instead taking off and running out of her chambers. Sokka knew that Izumi wouldn’t dare to interrupt her father if he were working in his study, so for her to go so carelessly, then he didn’t even have to follow her to know she was headed for the gardens.

He was right. 

Zuko wasn’t wearing any of his formal attire, so Sokka immediately knew he was done with work for the day. Instead, he had the legs of his pants pulled up so he could dip his feet into the pond, his red robe untied and his chest bare. The front of his black hair had been pulled into a top knot, keeping the rest of it flowing down his back.

Sokka hanged back as he saw Izumi run up to Zuko and excitedly show him her new necklace. Zuko smiled warmly at her and placed a hand on her cheek, caressing her face with her thumb. Sokka didn’t need to hear him to know he was probably showering her with compliments and telling her she was the most beautiful girl in all of the lands.

Zuko’s eyes left Izumi and finally landed on Sokka, who had been leaning against a pillar while taking in the scene in front of him. The welcoming smile Zuko gave him made his homecoming even warmer.

He made his way to the two of them, deciding to follow Zuko’s example and ditch his shoes so he could also enjoy the coolness of the water.

“How was the South Pole?” Zuko asked him. 

Izumi nested against her father’s chest, and he absentmindedly started running his fingers through her black hair while keeping his eyes on Sokka.

“Cold,” Sokka whined.

Zuko snorted. “Who would’ve guessed such a thing.”

“I guess I’ve grown used to warmer climates. My dad kept making fun of me and saying I’m an embarrassment to the tribe now that I can’t handle the cold.”

“Guess that makes you one of us officially now.”

“Guess so.”

Sokka leaned his head back to enjoy the warmness of the sun. He was home.

* * *

Being an Ambassador hadn’t been his plan in any way, shape or form, although, to be fair, he hadn’t had a plan to begin with. After the war, he and Katara had both helped Zuko with settling the peace between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes, and, once Katara had left with Aang, it seemed to make sense for him to stay behind a bit longer, rather than leaving Zuko alone and without help.

That “bit longer” ended up spanning over a year of him travelling back and forth, speaking with representatives of both tribes and negotiating their demands with Zuko. Once the peace with the Water Tribes had finally been established, Zuko had asked him if he wanted to make it official and become an Ambassador between the two nations. Having already found a job he both enjoyed and had become good at, he hadn’t hesitated to say yes.

But saying yes had led him to losing Suki. She had told him that she hadn’t minded waiting for him to settle his business with the Fire Nation, but that she couldn’t permanently make it her home. She had wanted to go back to Kyoshi, and Sokka could have never asked her to reconsider, and so they had parted ways. For a while, Sokka had missed her and wondered if he had made the wrong choice, and Zuko had even assured him he wouldn’t hold it against him if he decided he wanted to leave after all. 

Sokka stayed.

Then, a couple years after that, Zuko’s own relationship with Mai had ended. Zuko had never told him the reason beyond “irreconcilable differences”, and Sokka had never pried further than that. But a few months after that, Mai had come back with the news that she was pregnant with Zuko’s child.

Mai had never wanted a child, and she had made that much clear. So Zuko had been left with the choice of either raising the child on his own to be his heir to the throne, or Mai would find another family to take the child. Zuko immediately took on the responsibility, and cared for Mai until Izumi had been born.

Mai hadn’t trusted him immediately, and that was why Sokka had once walked into Zuko’s quarters to find Mai cornering him with a knife to his throat, threatening him that, even if she gave up her rights as a mother, if she so much as dreamed he was being less than an ideal father for the child, he would be in a world of pain. Sokka had panicked, understandably, but Zuko had held himself steady and looked her straight in the eyes, swearing to her he would treat the child the way he had wanted to be treated.

If Mai had ever threatened him again, Sokka didn’t know. But he doubted she had.

Sokka had had the misfortune of being away during the birth, visiting Toph, and Zuko hadn’t been able to send him the news in time for them to have reached him before he had come back. So Sokka had returned home to the palace, to find Zuko waiting for him at the top of the stairs with a baby Izumi in his arms.

Even though he had been upset for missing the birth, which had happened a full two weeks before it was supposed to, Sokka immediately forgot about being so the moment he had held Izumi in his arms. In that instant, Izumi had him wrapped around her tiny finger, and he couldn’t bring himself to mind it. She was in no way his, and yet he was completely hers.

Zuko had never minded the relationship Sokka and his daughter shared. He could see the pure adoration Sokka had for the girl in his eyes, in the way he had begged Katara to teach him how to braid hair so he could braid Izumi’s, in the way he scoured the markets all around the world looking for toys he knew Izumi would love, in the way Sokka would simply hold Izumi in his arms and whisper beautiful things in her ear.

And Sokka loved the home he had come to find. Zuko was the closest friend he had ever had, and they understood each other completely. Katara had called it “love”, Aang had called it “companionship”, Toph had called it “gross”. 

In honesty, he wouldn’t deny being in love with Zuko. He wasn’t even sure if it wasn’t something that had transcended love and reached a state of pure peace and understanding that grew between them not only after fighting side by side, but also while raising Izumi. But he had never acted upon his feelings, knowing Zuko had not only a daughter to care for, but an entire nation to run.

And he had made his peace with that. He had found his own little corner of the world, his own little family, that maybe wasn’t what he had expected, but so much more instead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos and the comments on the first chapter, they really made my day <3  
> I hope you enjoy this one as well!

Zuko was at his desk when Sokka let himself into the study, looking over some documents. His headpiece, on the other hand, was across the room. If the dishevelled look of his long black hair could tell a story, it would be one of annoyance and anger.

“That bad, uh?” Sokka teased as he closed the door behind him.

The only response he got was a hum.

He made his way to the desk, circling it so he’d stand next to Zuko, and leaned against it, his arms crossed over his chest. Zuko made no sign of acknowledging him, so he shoved his shoulder to get his attention.

Zuko sighed and looked at him. “Izumi found the fairytale book,” he said, instead of just telling him what was bothering him.

“Seriously?” Sokka huffed. “I bought that in the South Pole to give to her on her birthday. You should really teach your daughter to stop going through my luggage every time I come back home.”

“She’s your daughter too, and, unlike you, I know how to hide my presents to her.”

“Oh, you mean the stuffed platypus bear? She found that one weeks ago,” Sokka shot back, smiling in victory.

Zuko scowled, but couldn’t help the small smile that came over his face. Sokka smiled at him too.

“She really missed you, you know,” Zuko said. “She always does, but a couple of days back, she actually came in here crying and asking when you were coming home.”

Sokka’s heart tightened, especially knowing Izumi knew never to come into the study unless there was an emergency. They had taught her early on that the study and the council room were places of work, and while she would be allowed when she were older, for now they were restricted to her. She had never made a big fuss over it, saying the rooms were boring anyway, so she would prefer playing elsewhere. She had probably been really upset if she had actually entered the study looking for comfort. 

“I didn’t know it was that bad while I’m away,” he confessed.

Zuko stood up from his chair and leaned against the desk, his shoulder brushing against Sokka’s. 

“It usually isn’t. Honestly. She’ll miss you, but she always talks about the things she’ll show you and that you’ll do together once you come back. This time hit her harder for some reason.” 

Sokka sighed and leaned farther against Zuko’s side.

“I didn’t push her about it, but… I got the impression she thought you weren’t coming back this time,” Zuko continued. Feeling Sokka stiffen against him, he put an arm around his shoulders to try and comfort him. “Did something happen before you left?”

“Not that I can think of. Was she really that upset?”

Zuko hummed. “Asked me if you still loved her.”

Eyes widened, Sokka pulled back from the embrace so he could look directly into Zuko’s eyes. “Shit. Are you serious?”

He didn’t even wait for a reply, just made his way to the door and demanded the guards fetch Izumi. She would have been having her History lesson for the day, but fuck that. History could wait. 

His daughter had cried thinking he didn’t love her. Fuck.

Once Izumi arrived, she looked around confused, probably thinking she was in some sort of trouble. Sokka immediately kneeled down and hugged her as tightly as he could.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

Sokka didn’t reply.

“Sokka. You’re scaring our daughter.”

With a sigh, Sokka pulled back just a little so he could pick up Izumi and bring her to the desk chair, which Zuko had left vacant, sitting down with Izumi in his lap. Zuko stayed by them, still leaning against the desk.

“Why did you think I wasn’t coming back?” Sokka asked. His heart hardened just saying the words.

Izumi’s eyes fell to the ground, one of her hands playing with the blue crystal pendant he had gifted her just the day before. She had refused to take it out, even to bathe, despite all of Kaja’s admonishments.

“I had a nightmare…” she confessed, her voice barely more than a whisper. “That you didn’t love me or Pa anymore, and... and that you left and… and never came back…”

A tear fell on Sokka’s arm from her eyes. Fuck.

Sokka hugged her tighter as she started sobbing against his tunic, holding on to him like she was scared to let him go. He looked at Zuko in a panic, but he looked just as hurt and lost as he was.

He placed one hand on the top of her hair to caress her. “Zu… Zu, listen to me carefully. I love you so, so, _so_ much. Believe me when I say I am _never_ leaving you. Hell, I’ll probably be one of those fathers who is so attached he doesn’t let you move out until you’re forty.” He smiled once he felt a small vibration against his stomach. Izumi had chuckled. “You are my whole world. I could never stop loving you. And your Pa may be a _royal_ pain in my ass,” he joked, “but now he’s stuck with me too. Trust me, you two would be lucky to get rid of me now.”

Zuko kneeled down next to them and raised a hand to place it gently on Izumi’s cheek. She pulled away slightly from Sokka’s chest to look at her father.

“We aren’t going anywhere, yeah? Neither of us. We’ll always come back to you.”

Sokka kissed the top of her head, to give Zuko’s words more weight. 

“Promise?” Izumi whispered. 

Zuko showed her his pinky finger with a warm smile. “Pinky promise.”

She smiled and wiped her tears with the back of her hand so she could then reach out and intertwine her pinky with her father’s. She then unwrapped her other arm from around Sokka’s middle and reached her other hand in his direction with her pinky up so he could do the same.

“Well, that’s enough mushy crap for one day!” he exclaimed, before he brought her up to blow into her neck. Izumi giggled loudly, hitting his shoulders lightly, but that didn’t stop him from doing it again.

“Daddy!” she shouted, still giggling.

From the corner of his eye, Sokka could see that, as much as Zuko had appreciated the moment between the three of them, he wanted to be alone in his study so he could get back to work now that it was becoming more playful and loud than tender and emotional. Knowing that, he pulled away to look at Izumi.

“How about we both ditch work and go to the market to get some candy?” he suggested.

Izumi nodded enthusiastically and looked at Zuko to see if he would be going with them.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I have to work now. I’ll go next time, yeah?”

“Fine, be a bore!” Sokka joked before Izumi could be upset. “More candy for us!”

He said that as if he wasn’t going to be bringing back a couple of bags of fire gummies for Zuko. Knowing Izumi, he knew she’d be asking for both ice cream _and_ fire gummies (and he wasn’t strong enough in his heart to deny her sweets when she looked at him with pleading eyes and called him daddy), he might as well buy some extra. He was more of a sizzle-crisps kind of man anyway, so he would not be tempted to eat them on the way back to the palace.

“Have a nice time,” Zuko said, as he kneeled down to press a kiss to Izumi’s forehead. “Don’t eat so much you get a stomachache.”

“No promises!” she exclaimed, before running off to grab a coat from her chambers.

Zuko stood up and turned to face Sokka. “Maybe use the opportunity to buy her a new birthday gift.”

“You say that as if I hadn’t already bought five more of them, which I’ve hidden in various locations. If she’s going to be looking for gifts, may as well give her a challenge.”

“You spoil her too much,” Zuko chuckled.

“You’re worse!” Sokka exclaimed, but chuckled as well. “Anyway, I should get going. Anything you want from the market?”

Zuko asked him to pick up some writing ink, but not the ‘bright yellow garbage’ Sokka had once bought as a joke, to which Sokka replied he, like Izumi, would make no promises.

“Don’t miss me so much you die!” he called out as he left the study.

“You’re not the boss of me!” was Zuko’s reply.

* * *

Sokka looked away from the book to find Izumi was already fast asleep, her arms clutching the stuffed platypus bear tightly. He had to admit, that girl really had no qualms about doing what she wanted. She really had demanded he read her from the book she stole from his bag while hugging a stuffed animal she had stolen from her father’s room.

He carefully placed the book on the bedside table and left as silently as he could, making his way to the gardens. Zuko was already there, again with his feet in the pond, and his robe ditched to the side.

“Long day?” Sokka asked, sitting next to him. 

Zuko didn’t move to look at him. “Some skirmishes with the Earth Kingdom are affecting the merchant routes. Nothing that can’t be dealt with, but a headache nonetheless.”

Sokka chose that moment to reach into his pocket and pull out the fire gummies he had bought for Zuko, whose eyes lit up at the sight of them.

“You’re heaven sent,” he declared, immediately reaching for them.

“I know, so they tell me.”

Zuko pulled his feet out of the water, moving so he’d be lying on his back with his head on Sokka’s lap. He sighed. 

“I’m glad you’re home,” he confessed.

“I’m glad I’m home too. I missed you.”

He got a hum in response as Zuko started snacking on his gummies, but he knew the hum meant Zuko had missed him as well. Over the years, he had learned how to interpret Zuko’s many hums, which had proven especially helpful after Zuko had broken a tooth the year before and had spent a few days being unable to talk, other than by humming or gesturing.

One of his hands made its way to Zuko’s long hair, still loose from the headpiece, and his fingers started combing through it. Zuko had the habit of doing it to Izumi, and once, without thinking about it, he had done it to Sokka out of pure habit. After initial confusion and embarrassment, Sokka had confessed it had felt somewhat nice, so Zuko had started doing it, and Sokka picked up the habit of doing the same in return.

“Uncle will be coming to visit soon,” Zuko said, his eyes still closed. “He wanted to be here for Izumi’s birthday.”

“I’ll have the kitchen stock up on jasmine tea.”

Zuko let out an appreciative hum.

“We should also clear away a room. We both know he’ll be coming with dozens of gifts for Izumi,” Sokka joked.

“Sometimes I think he likes her more than me.”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

A pair of golden eyes stared at him, an eyebrow arched in a challenging manner. “That so?”

“She actually came to hug me when I returned, unlike you. Clearly she loves and misses me more than you do, so why shouldn’t I do the same?” he teased.

Zuko closed his eyes again and breathed silently. For a second, Sokka wondered if he had said something wrong, until Zuko spoke again, quietly this time.

“I did miss you.”

Sokka frowned. “Hey, I was just teasing. I know you did.”

“Alright.”

It was silent for a long time.

“How’s your shoulder?” Zuko asked, as if pretending to forget what had happened.

“Not as bad as when I was in the South Pole, but still not very well.”

Ever since the final battle against Fire Lord Ozai, his shoulder hadn't fully healed from holding up Toph for so long. Most times, he barely noticed the stiffness, but stormy weather or extreme cold would make the dull ache into almost full immobility of the joint. In all honesty, it had been one of his reasons for staying in the Fire Nation rather than going back to the Southern Water Tribe, where his shoulder would never feel alright again.

Without a word, Zuko sat up and turned to face Sokka. Sokka didn't need to ask what was going on, he simply untied his tunic and removed the side of it that had been covering his shoulder. Zuko put a hand against it, and it didn't take long for the warmth and relief to come.

"My own personal heat pack," Sokka joked.

Zuko offered him a small smile, his hand still pressed against his skin. Sokka leaned into the touch with a content sigh.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos and the lovely comments, you're all amazing <3

_ Sokka, _

_ of course Aang and I will be in attendance. Only over my dead body would I miss my (probably only--is there something I should know?) niece's birthday celebrations.  _

_ I would just ask that you please keep Toph away from the alcohol this time, as I do  _ **_NOT_ ** _ need a repeat of last time. Appa still has green spots all over his tail, which haven't gone away even with his spring shedding. _

_ I'll see you all soon. I hope you're taking good care of yourself and that you're at least trying to eat some fruit and vegetables. _

_ Love, _

_ Katara _

Sokka chuckled to himself at the memories of Zuko's birthday celebrations.

He folded back the letter and put it away in his drawer next Toph and Suki's confirmation letters. The celebrations wouldn't take place for another few weeks, but he knew that taking into account travel arrangements, he had to start planning these things with plenty of time left.

He leaned back in his chair, letting his head fall back, and sighed. He had been back from the South Pole for a few weeks already, and was beginning to grow restless. He didn’t have many duties when he wasn’t abroad, just sitting in on certain state meetings if they involved the South Pole in some way, or talking to Zuko if he received new relevant information. So with Zuko and Izumi both attending to their duties (one in a council meeting over border skirmishes, the other in a calligraphy lesson), he was left with nothing to do to spend his time.

To be honest, he felt bad for feeling this way. The only reason his life had been so hectic was because there was a literal tyrant massacring people all over the world and no one else was able to stop him. He should be happy with his quiet and peaceful life now, knowing all it had taken to achieve it, all the lives that had been lost.

And yet he still felt restless and bored.

He got up from the chair and paced around for a bit before deciding to head for the gardens. Maybe he could practice there to let off some steam. He could also see into the council room from there, so he’d know when Zuko would be free.

However, as he got to the gardens, he saw they weren’t empty.

“I thought you preferred practicing in the courtyard,” he said.

Ty Lee looked at him with a big smile as she stood on one of her hands. She had opted for her pink Fire Nation clothes over the typical Kyoshi attire.

“The view is better from here.” She winked.

"Aw, you flatter me too much."

She arched an eyebrow, her stance still perfect. "As if you didn't come here for the view as well. The Firelord does have a pretty sweet ass."

Sokka nearly choked on the air.

"No need to be shy, cutie, yours isn't bad either."

She pressed against the ground to jump up and land gracefully on her feet. Sokka refused to meet her eyes.

"I, uh, didn't know you were that interested in the Firelord."

She giggled. "Don't get territorial on me, I was just teasing. Everyone knows the Firelord's ass is for your viewing only."

Sokka, not for the first time since the conversation had begun, wanted to be an earthbender so he could make a hole and hide himself in it. Ty Lee noticed his embarrassment was just getting worse, but apparently that meant nothing to her.

"Not that his ass is his best feature, of course. The arms on that man are to  _ die  _ for. Wars would be fought for a chance to touch his arms. And his  _ back _ ? Ugh, the way his back muscles move when he's practicing firebending just really gets me goi--"

"OKAY, that's enough of that for today!"

Ty Lee pouted. "You didn't even give me a chance to get to his hair."

"I will literally drown myself and traumatize those poor innocent turtleducks if it's the only way to escape this conversation."

“Well, that certainly won’t do! We can’t have the Firelord’s favorite boy toy dying on us.”

“So when I jump in the lake to kill myself, should I go head first or just cannonball the shit out of it? Or maybe I should just aim for the rocks and hit my head there.”

With a laugh, Ty Lee moved closer to him and patted him on his back sympathetically, before she let herself fall to the ground so she could lay there and take in the sun. Despite his embarrassment, Sokka decided to do the same.

"You know I'm just teasing, right?" she asked, as she turned to lay on her side and look at him.

Sokka stayed on his back. "Yeah. I just… I don't know. I didn't know I was that obvious."

"You aren't. But I am here every day, I notice things most people wouldn't."

It was true. After the war, most of the Kyoshi warriors had decided to stay behind in the Fire Nation as Zuko's personal guards, whereas others, such as Suki, had decided to go back to their home on Kyoshi Island. Ty Lee had gone with them initially so she could receive formal training, but had come back to Caldera to join Zuko's guard.

Sokka and her didn't talk much, however. There wasn't a reason in particular, they just never usually made the effort to go to one another, but would chat if they found themselves in the same room.

“They’re just… feelings. They’ll go away eventually. So there’s no point in making a big deal out of them.”

“Feelings should always be celebrated!” Ty Lee smiled widely. “Especially love! I honestly believe we should always make our feelings known. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, we don’t even know if we’ll be there to witness it, so why should we hide away our feelings when we can all share them?”

Sokka sighed. “As beautiful as that is--truly, you should be a poet--I am not confessing to Zuko just to ease my conscience. He already knows I love him in several other ways, this one wouldn’t bring anything new other than guilt and anguish. I don’t want him to be burdened with my feelings.”

“Love is a bond, not a burden.”

“It is when you’re in charge of a country. It’s nothing more than a distraction.”

Ty Lee didn’t say anything else, just turned to face the sky once again and closed her eyes. Sokka took a deep breath to steady himself. If he had been restless before, his insides were in a complete turmoil now. His heart ached numbly.

“For what it’s worth, I think the love you already give him is one of the most beautiful things in his life,” Ty Lee whispered.

“I hope you’re right. I feel like a lovesick teenager sometimes.”

She smiled sadly, but, as if forgetting their entire conversation, she jumped in the air and landed on Sokka’s chest, sitting on him, with the brightest smile he’d ever seen on her face. He barely had time to brace himself before he was wheezing from the added weight.

“For the love of La, you really are trying to kill me, aren’t you?” he nearly shouted.

Her expression had him forget his anger, and, despite the weight still crushing his lungs, he laughed.

“Look at what Mai sent me!” Ty Lee brought her braid forward to show him the end of it, with a red hair tie donned with what was meant to look like a fire lily. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yes. Not beautiful enough to cost me my life, though. Strangely enough, I quite appreciate oxygen.”

“Are you telling me I take your breath away?” She gave him a flirty smile.

“I think my heart is literally skipping beats.”

“That’s how you know it’s true love.”

“Then apparently I will love you until I die. Which will be in about forty to forty five seconds.”

Ty Lee finally got off before Sokka could die of asphyxiation, but not without grumbling about how she wasn’t  _ that _ heavy. This time she chose to stay seated on the ground, her legs crossed, and she started playing with the beadwork on his tunic.

“I didn’t know you still talked to Mai,” Sokka confessed, as he rubbed his sore chest.

She looked offended. “Of course I do, Mai is my best friend!”

“I know. Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed. It’s just I know she stopped talking to Zuko.”

“Why wouldn’t she, after he broke up with her.”

The information hit Sokka like a ton of bricks, and he sat up as well, looking at Ty Lee with a deep frown.

“What are you talking about? Zuko only told me it was due to irreconcilable differences, so I assumed it was mutual.”

“Ha,  _ mutual _ ,” Ty Lee actually laughed at him. “Mai was in  _ deep _ with Zuko, there was nothing mutual about breaking up, trust me. She wouldn’t tell me what it was, because she’s mean to me like that, but I know she definitely didn’t want it. Then again, what was she going to do, refuse his break up and force him to stay?”

Sokka didn’t reply, but Ty Lee kept going.

“And then, of course, she found out she was pregnant, though she always said she would never be a mother, so that part was easy for her. But having to come back to talk to Zuko  _ killed _ her. She almost didn’t, to be honest.”

“I… I really didn’t know any of that. And…” Sokka’s eyes widened in realization. “Shit. I send her an invitation every year for Izumi’s birthday celebration in case she wants to come. She probably thinks I’m such an asshole, rubbing it in her face. Fuck!”

“Would you calm down? She doesn’t give a tiny elephant rat’s ass about you inviting her. You give her the option to come, she chooses not to, it’s that simple. She probably appreciates you not actively excluding her anyway.”

He nodded and smiled at Ty Lee. “I should talk to you more often. You have a way of making things seem simple.”

“First appointment is always free, I start charging for my services on the second appointment.” She smiled teasingly before standing up. “I’ve wasted too much time already, I should have been practicing but  _ someone _ apparently needed a personal therapist. Either spar with me or take a hike.”

Despite feeling like sparring with Ty Lee was literally asking to lose mobility for a good couple of hours, he figured why not. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do with his time anyway.

Ty Lee took it somewhat easy, by saying she wanted to practice beyond her chi blocking and become more proficient with physical weapons, such as knives. Sokka was happy to oblige, especially if it meant keeping function of his arms, and pulled out his favorite dagger. He noticed Ty Lee eyeing it suspiciously.

“Something the matter?”

She tore her eyes away from the dagger and looked into his eyes. The intensity in her gaze almost took his breath away.

“No. Nothing. Let’s go.”

Sokka frowned at her. What had she seen in the dagger?

"Tell me."

She bit her lip. "Did Zuko give that to you?" she ended up asking.

"Uh, yeah, it was a birthday gift a couple years back. How'd you know?"

The dagger didn't look anything special, in all honesty. It had a simple black handle, with a small red ruby encrusted into the top of the pommel. It was probably old too, but Zuko had told him he had had someone work on the grip so it wasn’t as worn.

“Because it was his.”

“Zuko’s? So?”

Ty Lee rolled her eyes so aggressively her whole head followed the motion. “For the love of Agni, you _are_ daft. You’ve been here for more than five years, are you seriously telling me you haven’t taken the time to learn our customs and traditions? We don’t just give out weapons like that here, only when there’s a deep personal connection between the person gifting it and the person receiving it. Weapons are treated like heirlooms, they're not just trinkets we give away.”

“So?” Sokka shrugged. “We’re close friends. We’re raising a daughter together. Of course there’s a  _ deep personal connection _ .”

“Agni give me patience, for if you give me strength… Let’s just begin before I’m forced to whack you on the head for being a dumbass.”

“Alright, alright, no need to get aggressive!”


	4. Chapter 4

“Okay, you know the drill, right? You have to be  _ very  _ quiet. If he wakes up, all our plans go down the drain.”

Izumi looked solemnly into Sokka’s eyes and mimicked zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key, which made Sokka laugh at the contrast of her serious expression and comic actions. He looked at Soyo, the Kyoshi warrior standing outside of Zuko’s chambers who was trying really hard not to laugh, and he couldn’t help but chuckle a bit more as well.

He turned back to Izumi. “You ready?”

She nodded.

Sokka picked her up and looked at Soyo, who opened the door into Zuko’s chambers as silently and quietly as she could. Sokka then walked inside and made his way up to the bed, where he placed Izumi.

It was at least one hour until sunrise, so Zuko was still dead asleep, wearing a red silk tunic. Luckily for them, he slept on his back, which made all of this possible.

From the corner of his eye, Sokka could see Izumi holding back giggles as he opened the pot of ink he had brought with him, and he smiled. He held out the pot to her, and she immediately dipped the tip of her finger in before turning to start drawing on the right side of Zuko’s face. She had barely begun drawing the whiskers on the left side when Zuko's gold eyes fluttered open.

In two seconds, Zuko was already sitting up with his back against the headboard and his eyes fully open and alert.

“What in Agni’s name are you two doing!?” he nearly shouted, before taking in the pot of ink in Sokka’s hand and Izumi’s stained fingertips. “You have  _ got _ to be kidding me.”

“We were just trying to make you pretty, Papa.” Izumi gave him the sweetest and most charming smile she could.

Zuko shot a glare at Sokka. “Great, you corrupted our daughter.”

“I have done nothing of the sort! I merely supplied her with some ink, that  _ you _ asked me to buy. And woke her up before sunrise to be sure you’d be asleep. And promised Soyo a lifetime of moon peaches so she’d let us in.”

With a scowl, Zuko reached for a hankerchief on the top of his bedside table and handed it to Izumi. “Clean yourself and get to back to bed. If I hear you aren’t in bed in the next ten minutes, you’ll be in big trouble.”

Izumi looked at Sokka with big pleading eyes, but he just shrugged.

“You’re on your own, Zu. We got caught, we have to deal with the consequences.”

She grumbled and stomped out of the quarters, probably cursing them under her breath. 

“Don’t worry, though, he’s a softie, he’ll make it up to you by tomorrow!” he shouted after her.

She ignored him.

After the door slammed shut, Zuko stood up and made his way to a small table in the corner with a basin of water on top. Sokka, on the other hand, just sprawled on the now empty bed after setting the ink on the bedside table. 

It really wasn’t fair Zuko had sheets so much softer than he did, regardless of him being Firelord. Sokka deserved linen sheets as soft as these too.

“Are you seriously not going to help me get this off?” Zuko grumbled, as he rubbed the water into his face.

“But the bed is so warm…” Sokka whined. He wormed his way further into the sheets. “So comfy…”

“Yeah, maybe that’s why I want to take this off as soon as possible so I can get back to it.”

“But comfy…”

Zuko growled something else under his breath, probably about how useless Sokka is (wouldn’t be the first time, really), and who was Sokka to argue with such a statement or try to prove him wrong.

Once Zuko finally finished washing his face, he made his way back to the bed. “Did you seriously try to prank me, wake me up at an  _ ungodly _ hour, and then take over my bed?”

Sokka mumbled something incomprehensible into the pillow, too close to being asleep to make any sense.

“At least shove over so I can go back to sleep,” Zuko sighed.

If Sokka heard him, he made no sign of it. So Zuko resorted to pushing him towards one side of the bed so he could at least have half of  _ his own bed _ back. This time, he did get a response from Sokka, who whined that he was no longer warm and comfy, but Zuko simply told him to take a hike before burying his face in a pillow to try and get some sleep.

* * *

Sokka woke up alone in Zuko’s bed. It wasn’t the first time that happened, in all honesty, and judging by the amount of sunlight coming in from the large windows Zuko had had installed in his chambers, sunrise had come and gone a long time ago already, which meant Zuko had let him sleep in while he went on with his day.

As he turned around, Sokka noticed a tray resting on the bedside table, containing some bread, a bowl with lychee nuts and a cup of tea, which had probably already run cold. He smiled at the thoughtfulness.

He ate slowly, not really in a rush. He just enjoyed the softness of the sheets and the warm feeling of the sunlight flooding the chambers. Maybe he should have some windows installed in his own chambers that were as big as these. He liked the way they illuminated the entire room and made it feel comforting and safe.

The last time he had woken up in this bedroom, the windows hadn’t been changed yet, so it was much darker inside, which, in all honesty, had been a blessing in disguise considering the hangover he had that day. 

It had been the last crazy night of drinking either he or Zuko had had. It had been a few days after Zuko had decided to take in his and Mai’s child, and he had been panicking about his decision, so Sokka had decided that drinking the worries away would be the perfect solution. 

In other words, Sokka was a fucking idiot. 

He only remembered a few flashes of that night, including one of him forcing Momo on his lap and pretending to do a ventriloquist act. Poor Momo. Because of that, after waking up in Zuko’s bed with his mouth tasting bitterly of things he didn’t want to try to decipher, he had begged Zuko to forget that night and never mention it again. Zuko had gotten an expression on his face that Sokka hadn’t quite been able to read, especially with his head pounding, but he had agreed, and so that night had been left forgotten.

Now that he thought about it, Zuko had also brought him lychee nuts that morning too. To be honest, Sokka didn’t even like lychee nuts all that much (it’s not that he disliked them, he just never went out of his way to have them), but with Zuko constantly offering them to him when he felt sick or down or just needed food, the taste of them started to mix with memories of Zuko in his mind.

“You look thoughtful.”

Zuko’s voice brought Sokka back to reality, and he snapped his eyes to the door to find Zuko closing it behind him.

Sokka shrugged. “Not particularly, just enjoying the sun.” 

He watched as Zuko moved to sit beside him on the bed, with his back pressed against the headboard and his eyes closed, probably to enjoy the warmth of the sun as well. Sokka reached out the hand holding the small bowl.

“Lychee nut?” he asked.

“No, I hate those.”

Sokka nearly spit out a non-existent lychee nut. “What do you  _ mean _ you hate lychee nuts!? If you hate them, why do you keep offering them to me!?”

“I thought you liked them.” Zuko frowned.

“Well, now I do,” Sokka grumbled, more to himself than to Zuko. “It would be hard not to after almost ten years of you shoving them down my throat.”

By the time he had finished the lychee nuts, Zuko had heated up his tea with his firebending, and Sokka thanked him as he gulped it down. Zuko made a face.

"What?"

"I still don't understand how you can just drink scalding tea in two gulps like that. How is your throat not burned?"

He shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I just like things hot.”

“You’re a masochist, is what it is.” Zuko shook his head as if showing disappointment. “Anyway, Izumi is asking you do her hair for her birthday festivities. She wants, and I quote, ‘pretty hair like Daddy’s’.”

"I assume the prank is forgiven, if you're discussing her birthday."

"She may have tried making me tea to try and sweeten me up, but ended up burning it half to death. You have to appreciate the effort."

"I bet you still drank it."

"Of course."

Sokka let out a small smile. 

A couple years after Izumi was born, during one of Katara and Aang’s visits to the Fire Nation, he had gotten his sister to teach him how to braid hair. He knew how to do a basic braid (though not very well, they always came out really sloppy and messy), but he wanted to learn more elaborate and elegant styles he could do on Izumi’s hair, because, well, what dad wouldn’t want their daughter to have pretty hair?

Since learning, he had also adopted the braids for himself, usually having one on each side of his haircut that he decorated with beads or ribbons or feathers, depending on what he felt like doing. He usually stuck to blue and white beads, to match his clothing, but would go more elaborate or with different colors for different occasions, such as red and gold ribbons on Zuko’s and Izumi’s birthday celebrations, or feathers when he accompanied Zuko on school visits because the children seemed to like them.

As for Izumi’s braids, he only really did them every once in a while, mostly because neither of them had the patience to sit through it very often, but also because he knew people looked down on a typical Water Tribe hairstyle on the Fire Nation princess. He knew he shouldn’t be bothered by what other people thought, especially in regards to his relationship with his own daughter, but he was also afraid of tainting Izumi’s reputation before she even got a chance to build it for herself.

He bit his lip. “Are you sure?” he ended up asking. “About the braids, I mean. Her birthday celebrations are very…  _ public _ . And people are judgemental. They already don’t take too kindly to me being a parent to her, imagine if she walks out there with Water Tribe braids.”

“So?” Zuko shrugged. “People are always going to find things to complain about.”

“I know. But she’s just a kid, and she already has more eyes and pressure on her than anyone should at that age. I don’t want to pile on.”

Zuko moved so he was sitting cross legged on the bed, and forced Sokka to move so they would both be facing each other, his hands on Sokka’s shoulders.

“Sokka. You aren’t piling on anything. All you’re doing is making her happy. Screw what everyone thinks, as long as she’s happy.”

Sokka sighed. “Yeah. You’re right. I know you are. I just… worry.”

“I understand.” Zuko nodded. “But it’s what she wants. And I honestly couldn’t give less of a shit about anyone else when it comes to her happiness.”

He widened his eyes, as Zuko almost never swore unless he was especially fired up, but then took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. Fuck them,” he chuckled. “I’ll go into town this afternoon and buy beads for her hair.”

“We can go now, if you want,” Zuko offered. “We finally settled the border issues, so I have the rest of the day free. Unless, you know, we get attacked by crazy lion vultures, or something.”

“Fine. But if you’re coming, then you’re buying me fire flakes.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “One of these days, I’m going to start thinking you only care about me for my money.”

“Well, of course. What else is there to care about?”

That earned him a punch to the shoulder, but he just laughed and assured Zuko he also liked the fancy rooms at the palace that he had from being ambassador, getting a grumbled “ass” in response.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for disappearing. I had a bad couple of weeks, which included amazing moments such as chronic pain flareups and my father in law being rushed into emergency surgery after a bad reaction to some medication.   
> -sigh-   
> I'm just happy to be back. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Sokka stood straight a few steps behind Zuko and Izumi at the entrance to the palace. He expected the day to be boring, as it would be when everyone--literally  _ everyone _ \--would be arriving for Izumi’s birthday celebrations, and so he, both as ambassador and Izumi’s father, was expected to receive them. Still, since he wasn’t  _ actually _ her father and he was  _ only _ an ambassador, he couldn’t stand beside Zuko and Izumi or it would be seen as disrespectful.

Who made up these rules anyway, and why didn’t they have any hobbies? Maybe if they tried a pottery class every once in a while, there wouldn’t be a thousand gestures Sokka would have to overthink and worry about.

As the guest reception marked the beginning of Izumi’s birthday celebrations, Sokka had already worked red and gold ribbons into his hair the night before with Zuko’s help to make sure it was done properly. He didn’t just add them to the braids on the side of his haircut, but had them also flow down the wolf’s tail with the rest of his hair to add some color and dimension.

The wind picked up and sent the loose sections of their robes flying, as well as Zuko’s long hair. Sokka looked up just in time to see Appa’s belly and legs as the bison covered the sun completely, looking like a slightly flufflier and greenier cloud. Apparently Katara hadn’t lied when she said the green marks were still very much visible. Poor Appa.

Sokka’s eyes followed the bison as it circled the spot in front of the stairs before finally landing. Seeing them arrive seemingly made Izumi disregard everything he and Zuko had told her about etiquette and propriety, as she immediately dashed off down the stairs shouting for Appa. Sokka couldn’t help the chuckle that left his lips at the sight.

Zuko, on the other hand, sighed, but didn’t say anything either. 

The two of them made their way down the stairs after her, figuring that they might as well hold the reception at the bottom of them rather than at a top. As they walked down, Aang helped Iroh get out of the saddle using airbending, with Momo flying around them as if to help as well.

Sokka immediately bowed to him, and stayed that way as Zuko went to hug him. Once Zuko pulled away, Iroh didn’t hesitate to make his way to Izumi.

“Uncle Iroh!” she exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms. “Did you bring me any gifts from Ba Sing Se?”

“Izumi!” Zuko admonished.

Sokka, on the other hand, had to cover his mouth to hide his chuckling. She really was something else.

“What? Uncle always brings the best gifts!” he defended himself once Zuko sent him a warning glare. Sokka turned to Iroh. “You brought me cool gifts too, didn’t you?”

Iroh gave him an amused grin. “I always bring gifts when I visit family.”

Both Sokka and Izumi beamed as they high-fived each other, while Zuko grumbled he was surrounded by materialistic children. 

In the meantime, Katara had also descended from Appa, and only when Sokka stopped paying attention to Izumi, who now had Momo perched on her head, and looked at his sister did he notice the small round bump on her belly. His eyes widened as they took in the sight, and he had to glance once at Zuko to make sure he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating.

Maybe hallucinations were a side effect of eating too many lychee nuts? He knew Zuko couldn't have been that generous by stuffing him full of lychee nuts every chance he got. But if that were the case, then Zuko had to have eaten them as well because he looked as shocked as Sokka probably did, and that wasn't possible because Zuko hated them even more than Sokka did.

Sokka's eyes finally met Katara's, until she smiled shyly and nodded.

“Are you serious!?” he nearly shouted, completely exhilarated. “Shit, Katara, why didn’t you tell me!?”

He heard Zuko bark out ‘language!’, and he realized he had forgotten Izumi was there, but he didn't really care in the moment what language she picked up. Besides, with Toph staying for a week, she was sure to pick up much worse than just 'shit'.

"We wanted to wait to tell you in person," Katara confessed.

Before he had time to process what he was doing, his body was moving to grab Katara by an arm and pull her towards a tight hug. She chuckled into his chest as she hugged him back.

"Don't get sappy on me, Sokka!" she threatened, but her light tone negated any threat.

When he finally let her go so Zuko could give his congratulations, he didn't even have time to inhale before Suki was attacking him with a hug as well, while Aang joined Katara in greeting Izumi and Zuko.

"La, Suki, are you trying to kill me!?"

"Maybe just a little," she teased, but then squeezed a bit tighter. “I just missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

He gave Aang a quick hug and congratulated him as well. Izumi was fixated on Katara’s baby bump, looking at it from all angles, and Sokka chuckled a little at the sight.

"Where's Toph?" he ended up asking, noticing no one had tried attacking him with a boulder yet. In the last years, Toph had gotten very…  _ physical  _ with her love.

"We dropped her off a couple of towns back. Apparently there was a fighting type competition happening there where all types of bending were allowed." Aang shrugged. 

Zuko let out a long drawn sigh and turned to Izumi. "Why don't you show Uncle to his rooms?" he asked. 

"Yeah, maybe he can give you your presents then.” Sokka winked at her.

Izumi nodded enthusiastically and grabbed Iroh by his hand to pull him toward the palace. “Come on, I had Kaja prepare some jasmine tea just for you!”

Once they walked away, Momo flying alongside them, Zuko shot Sokka a glare. “You’re going to spoil her by only letting her think about gifts.”

“It’s her birthday, everyone is giving her gifts. Come on, don’t be such a sourpuss.”

“I am  _ not  _ a sourpuss.”

“Are you sure? You? The emo king? The angst master? Angsty Lord Zuko, first of his angsty name, Lord of All Angstiness?”

Zuko rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like ‘say angst  _ one more time _ ’. Taking advantage of the fact that technically they weren’t receiving anyone anymore and so etiquette could be damned, Sokka took a few steps towards Zuko and put an arm around his shoulder.

“Come on, Your Angstiness, don’t look so down, you know my jest comes with love.”

“Oh, yes, I  _ feel _ the love.”

“You should, I’m very loving.”

He only got a hum in response. Even after ten years, and knowing almost all of Zuko’s hums, this specific one still eluded him. It was deep and quiet, so quiet that it almost went unnoticed most times, and usually accompanied by a locked jaw and averted eyes. It happened often enough that Sokka knew it wasn’t just a random one-off reaction, but it hadn’t happened enough times for him to figure out its meaning.

The tension became palpable until Katara cleared her throat. "How about we go put our things away and we could have some breakfast together?"

Aang nodded enthusiastically, probably hoping to escape the awkwardness.

"I have some meetings to attend, but go ahead. You can send for me if you need anything." Zuko shrugged off Sokka’s arm and made his way into the palace.

Sokka scratched his arm as he watched Zuko walk away, feeling horrible inside after seeing the way his friend was acting. Zuko had seemed fine the night before when he had helped him do his hair, had even cracked some jokes and played a little with Sokka’s braids absentmindedly while they talked about some random stuff, such as what food they hoped Katara would bring from the South Pole, where she and Aang had been before going to pick up Suki, Toph and Iroh. But today he seemed sour and short, and Sokka didn’t even think he had said anything that different from the crap he usually said.

Suki took the initiative to step forward and put her arm around his. “Come on, I’ll give you the privilege of carrying my luggage and finding me the biggest room in the palace. And in return, I’ll let you rub my feet.”

“I don’t see any benefits for me in that deal.” Sokka arched an unamused eyebrow.

“You get to touch the feet of a goddess. You should be overjoyed that you are worthy of such an honor.”

“I’ll be sure to thank the goddess for that blessing, then.”

* * *

“The silk thread symbolizes the brave blood that flows through our veins,” Suki said, as Izumi eyed her uniform with absolute amazement. “The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior’s heart.”

“And the fans?” Izumi asked excitedly.

“The fans are just badass,” Sokka joked, looking away briefly from his conversation with Aang and Katara.

Suki laughed. “Yes, the fans are badass.”

She and Ty Lee had taken the opportunity of Suki’s first visit to the palace in so long to teach Izumi all about the Kyoshi warriors’ culture and customs, which included dressing her in a mini version of their uniform and trying to apply the makeup properly, though that hadn’t exactly been possible as Izumi was too excited to play with the fans to sit still, and so she had only gotten one and a half of her eyes done before Suki had lended her a pair of fans.

They had decided to teach her in the courtyard so Sokka and Katara could also watch, though the two of them were mostly just catching up while snacking on some finger foods Kaja had brought for them. Aang, on the other hand, had taken Appa back to wherever they had left Toph to make sure she didn’t bring the town down.

“So,” Katara said, once Suki had pulled Izumi a little further away to show her a defense technique. “What happened with you and Zuko?”

Sokka bit his lip. “So I’m not crazy! He was acting weird, right?”

“Very. I just assumed you two got in a fight, or something.”

“No, nothing happened.”

Katara gave him an apologetic smile and rubbed his arm gently to comfort him, though it did nothing to soothe the gnawing pain at the bottom of his chest.

“Could it be Suki?” she ended up asking after a few moments in silence, lowering her voice so the woman in question wouldn’t hear her.

“Could what be Suki?”

“Could Suki be the reason he’s acting this way. I mean, it _is_ the first time she comes to the Fire Nation after you two broke up, and probably the first time in almost ten years Zuko sees her.”

“Why would Zuko be upset about seeing Suki?” Sokka was truly confused.

“I don’t know, maybe he's jealous.” Katara shrugged. 

Sokka blinked. “What are you talking about? Why would Zuko be jealous of Suki?”

“Well, I mean, I’d be pretty jealous if I had to be hostess to one of Aang’s ex-girlfriends.”

Izumi’s giggles echoed through the courtyard, and Sokka barely spared a glance in her direction before focusing back on his sister.

“That’s a little different, no? I mean, you and Aang are  _ married _ . They’re very clearly different situations.”

Katara shrugged again. “Being married didn’t change much, honestly. And you and Zuko are basically already married to begin with.”

Sokka’s gnawing pain deepened, and he tried to bury it by laughing loudly and attempting to make jokes. “Whoever hears you talk will think Zuko and I are in a relationship.”

A pause.

“Aren’t you?”

Another pause. 

“I’m sorry, did you just ask me if Zuko and I are in a relationship?”

A nod.

“What? Why the fuck would you think that!?”

Katara smacked his arm and looked pointedly at Izumi, reminding him silently to mind his language around her, but Sokka was in too much of a daze to even realize what kind of words he was using.

“So you’re saying you’re not together?” she asked.

“Why would you even think otherwise?”

“ _ Everyone _ thinks otherwise!” Katara threw her hands in the air in desperation. “We all have an ongoing bet over who is going to propose first and when! Iroh bet us free tea for the rest of our lives on how it would happen this week!”

Sokka’s brain was spinning by this point, and very much not in good enough condition to say anything coherent, or even just words to begin with.

“I mean, you two live together--”

“Yeah, because I’m an ambassador!”

“Oh, spare me, we all know ambassadors in the Fire Nation get their own villas in the city, you stay here because you want to. Not to mention you’re raising a daughter together--”

“Platonically!”

“Don’t even try it with the ‘platonic’, you told me yourself you’re in love with him!” she bit back. He couldn’t argue with that. “And he told me himself he was in love with you, so what else was I supposed to assume? Aang has even been working on two different best man speeches for the past five years because he didn’t know which one of you would ask first, which I thought was a bit presumptuous, but not that far-fetched. Although I do think you’d pick me to be your best man, because I am your sister, and Aang is just some brat we picked along the way, and I highly doubt you’d pick  _ Toph _ for that. I mean, can you even imagine…”

Sokka didn’t hear a single word beyond ‘he told me himself he was in love with you’. 

Zuko. Zuko had told Katara he was in love with Sokka. The same Zuko with whom Sokka had been in love for ten years. Zuko, the one who haunted his dreams and blessed his nightmares, the one who would play gently with Sokka’s hair while they talked about things as trivial as what the best candy in the Fire Nation was, the one who could make his entire day with just a small smile and a content hum.

He couldn’t tell if the gnawing pain had lightened into relief or if it was eating away at him with even more force than before.

“When?” he asked, interrupting Katara’s ramblings.

She looked confused. “When what?”

“When did he tell you that? When did Zuko tell you he was in love with me?”

“He said that’s why he broke up with Mai.”

His break up with Mai. The one he had said had been mutual and due to ‘irreconcilable differences’. No wonder Mai had never told Ty Lee.

“Sokka? What's going on? Did we really get it wrong?”

“I… I never even knew he had feelings for me. I had resigned myself to being friends and raising Izumi, and how could I ever ask for more than that? Why would I risk it all for one small thing when I could have everything else I ever wanted? I could never just destroy my family on a whim.”

Katara’s eyes were gentle as she leaned forward so her forehead touched his. He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, craving his sister’s comfort.

“It’s not a whim,” she whispered. Her hands cradled his cheeks. “You both love each other. And you could both be  _ so _ happy together. Go to him, Sokka. Find the last piece missing from your happily ever after.”

Sokka took a deep breath, and almost said yes and jumped up and ran as fast as he could and burst into Zuko’s council room. But he didn’t. He just shook his head.

“I can’t.” He sighed. The gnawing pain reached the pit of his stomach. “What if you’re wrong, Katara? What if I go to him now and lay it all on the line, only for him to say no? Knowing us, we could go back to how we are now, but how long would it take? It’s Izumi’s birthday celebrations, I can’t ruin them by not being able to be in the same room as him.”

She caressed his cheeks with her thumbs and moved to kiss his forehead. “I understand. But for what it’s worth, that man could never say no to anything you ask of him.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this, I wrote it out in-between answers for a written master's application process when I felt like I needed a creative outlet to deal with stress, so I'm not sure how good it actually is. 
> 
> And thank you all so much for all the well-wishes on the last chapter <3 your comments always warm my heart

“Dad?”

Sokka’s eyes snapped to his half open door and found Izumi looking at him with a worried expression. He hadn’t even heard the door open.

He knew he probably looked like, to put it simply, absolute shit. He had spent the night tossing and turning, afraid of falling asleep and dreaming of things that would just make whatever monster was eating at his stomach grow. The constant turning had completely ruined his braids, and he had been left holding the red and gold ribbons in his hand, trying desperately not to think of the man who had gifted them to him.

Trying his best to smile without looking pained, he sat up on his bed and patted the spot next to him in a silent invitation for Izumi to sit there. She closed the door behind him and moved slowly, as if afraid to spook him with any sudden movements.

“Are you alright?” she asked. He put an arm around her to pull her close to his chest, and sighed silently at the comforting warmth. “Aunt Toph already arrived, and you didn’t come to breakfast.”

“I’m sorry Zu, I just wasn’t very hungry. Did you enjoy it, though? I thought I heard Uncle mention he brought egg custard tarts,” he said, trying to change the subject away from him.

“Yeah, but Uncle Aang ate most of them.” Izumi pouted, before sighing. “Papa didn’t come to breakfast either. Kaja says he’s not even in the palace.”

Oh.

“Does she know where he went?”

Izumi shook her head. “She told Aunt Katara he left before the sun was even up. Did I do something wrong? Is that why you two didn’t come?”

Shit. Whatever monster had been eating at his stomach now had his heart in its grip and was starting to squeeze.

Sokka took a deep breath, trying to center himself before speaking. He tried to be as gentle as possible as he picked Izumi up and sat her down on his lap so that she would face him, but she kept her eyes trained on her fidgeting hands.

"Look at me, Izumi."

She hesitated at first, but then looked up with her golden eyes, just like her father's, though glossy with tears. Sokka put a hand on her cheek and caressed it gently.

"You did nothing wrong. Yeah? Your pa and I are just… we’re just having a bad day. Being a grown-up is harder than it looks. But we’ll be better soon, yeah?” He pulled her closer to his chest and hugged her. This time, she didn’t hesitate in putting her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry we made you sad. How about we go get some second breakfast and try to find some more egg custard tarts?”

“Fine.” Izumi sighed. “But if there’s no more tarts, you’re buying me fire gummies, or I’ll tell Aunt Katara you helped Aunt Toph turn Appa green.”

Sokka faked a dramatic gasp. “Where did you learn to be this devious? Was it Toph? I knew I shouldn’t leave you alone with her. You pick up bad things.”

“She taught me a new word today at breakfast!” she announced, a huge smile covering her face.

Well, that couldn’t be good. Maybe he should have gone to breakfast after all.

“Okay Zu, here’s the thing, the words Aunt Toph uses aren’t proper words, and you should never ever use them, okay?”

“What’s wrong with ‘parsimonious’?”

Sokka blinked. “What the fuck does that even mean?”

“Daddy, what does ‘fuck’ mean?”

Well, now Zuko definitely would stop avoiding him, if nothing else to go off on him for teaching their daughter the word ‘fuck’. That should be fun.

He didn’t bother with his hair, figuring he had a few sleepless nights still ahead of him and no real responsibilities in the next few days that would require him to look put-together. Izumi had gone on ahead to the dining hall while he put on actual clothes.

As he walked into the dining hall, the first thing he noticed was Katara’s sympathetic gaze, which, honestly, he could have done without. But he didn’t have time to even properly register her look before there was a boulder hitting him right in the stomach and knocking him on the ground. He was about to shout a 'what the fuck!?', but then Toph's voice echoed through the hall.

"The fuck is this shit, Snozzles? I come to visit and you don't even have the fucking decency to come down here and fucking greet me?"

"Language!" Katara barked.

Sokka probably would have added to it, but he was still too busy wheezing.

“Aw, come on, I didn’t even hit him that hard! It was just a loving caress.” 

He didn’t have to look at Toph to know she’d have a shit-eating grin on her face.

Katara must have felt sorry for him, because she was the only one who stood up from her spot and reached out a hand to help him get back up. 

“Can you please stop greeting me with a rock to the stomach every time we see each other? One of these days I’m going to drop dead,” Sokka grumbled, using his free hand to rub the wounded area.

As he looked around, his heart dropped realizing that Zuko really wasn’t present, but that Iroh was there, nursing a cup of tea while he talked to Izumi. In all the years since Zuko had taken the throne, whenever Iroh came to visit, he would limit his meetings as much as possible so he could spend time with his uncle, and from what Kaja had told Katara, he knew for a fact Zuko wasn’t even in the palace, much less having a meeting. Which meant Zuko was avoiding either him or Suki so intensely, he was also avoiding his own uncle as a consequence.

Great.

“Hey, Katara?” he whispered, pulling her towards a corner by her sleeve. 

“Yeah?”

“Have you seen Zuko since yesterday morning?”

Katara bit her lip. “I haven’t seen him today, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Wait, did you see him yesterday? After you arrived and the welcoming thing?” Sokka asked, an eyebrow arched.

“Uh… kind of? He, uh… he came to our chambers, to, uh, you know, congratulate us on the pregnancy! Yeah, the baby.”

“Didn’t he already congratulate you when you arrived?”

“Oh, you know Zuko!” Katara laughed nervously. "He likes to, you know, say the same thing several times."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Zuko barely says things the first time."

She sighed. "Look, you clearly are just bothered that he's not here right now, and I can't help with that. I haven't seen him yet today."

Sokka took a deep breath and left it at that, heading back to the table to sit next to Izumi. She kept talking to Iroh, but moved to sit on Sokka's lap, and he hugged her close to her chest with a smile. At least she wasn't avoiding him, or at least wouldn't be until her teenage years. Those should be fun.

"Are there any lychee nuts here?" he asked, looking around the table.

Katara frowned from where she had taken a seat in front of him. "Since when do you like lychee nuts?"

He shrugged, not really wanting to offer an answer. What could he say, 'I miss Zuko so I want to eat lychee nuts because they remind me of him'? That was mature.

La, he was really turning into a lovesick teenager.

* * *

"Zu, I love you, I really do, but if you don't sit still for the next twenty minutes, you're going out there with half of your hair in a braid and the other half in an elephant rat's nest," Sokka threatened.

Izumi grumbled, muttering about how  _ maybe _ she wanted to look like she had an elephant rat’s nest in her hair, but ended up sitting still anyway, to Sokka’s relief. His fingers carefully braided Izumi’s hair, using the beads he had bought the other day at the market. Then, as a small secret between them, he put in a small Water Tribe blue bead hidden in-between the rest of them, a small token of himself on his daughter. He didn't tell her, though; she would discover it when she took her hair down at the end of the day.

"Okay, all done, you hyperactive tiger monkey."

Izumi cheered and dashed off to find the nearest mirror so she could look at herself. While she did, Sokka grabbed the sizzle-crisps bowl he had left on the bedside table and kept snacking on them, hoping that maybe food would distract him from the swallowing feeling inside. 

He hadn’t seen Zuko in two days by now. Knowing him, he would have wanted to be present while Sokka braided Izumi’s hair, and would have probably been a great help in keeping her entertained enough that she wouldn’t have squirmed so much during the process. And yet, when he had told Kaja to fetch him, she returned with an apologetic smile and told him he couldn’t make it.

He would probably be arriving soon. He wouldn’t miss being with Izumi on her birthday just to avoid Sokka. Of that Sokka could be sure.

“I look so pretty,” Izumi giggled as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Sokka smiled softly. At least she could somewhat soothe his inner pain.

“You always look pretty.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

He heard someone knock on the door and told them to enter. Kaja came inside and looked directly at him.

“Ambassador? You should get going soon, or you’ll be late. Firelord Zuko is already awaiting you two at the palace entrance.”

Sokka nodded. “Thank you, Kaja.”

Izumi immediately went to grab Sokka’s hand and started to pull him along, barely giving him time to place the sizzle-crisps bowl back on a table. His friends and Iroh would already be in the city enjoying the celebrations, but Zuko and Izumi would be expected to make a grand entrance. Technically Sokka wasn’t required for that ceremony as he wasn’t a royal, but Zuko had always insisted he join them anyway as he was still Izumi’s father.

As Kaja said, Zuko was already standing at the top of the entrance stairs, his back to the door. Sokka could see he had his hair in its usual style, with the front half pulled up into a top knot and the back flowing freely down his back. But, right in the center, on his back, he had a small braid, tied at the end with two beads--one red, and one blue.

Sokka’s heart fluttered. Just that sight seemed to dissipate whatever monster had been eating at his stomach in mere instants. And Sokka smiled.

“Papa!” Izumi exclaimed, as she let go of Sokka’s hand to go hug Zuko.

Zuko turned around at the sound of Izumi’s voice just in time to kneel down and hug her back gently.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he told her as he caressed her hair, being mindful of the braids. “You look very beautiful.”

“Thank you. Daddy did my hair!”

Sokka watched as Zuko smiled warmly into Izumi’s hair, before looking up so his eyes settled on Sokka. His smile didn’t waver. His eyes softened. His lips mouthed a ‘hey’.

Sokka could have cried in relief if he hadn’t been trying his best to maintain his composure.

Once Zuko kissed the top of Izumi’s hair and stood up, she reached out two hands in the air, one for each of her fathers to take, and Sokka didn’t hesitate to step forward and take her left hand. Zuko smiled at him once more.

Those few seconds were all he needed to be able to take his first deep breath in three days and face the scene ahead of him. The city always seemed to brighten up for a royal family member’s birthday festivities, with red and gold banners and lights hung from every building, and countless stalls featuring merchants of food, toys, clothes, and countless other things. Throughout the day, there would also be musicians playing and theater performances in each corner of the city, finishing with a grand fireworks show at the end of the night--Zuko tended to excuse himself during this portion of the festivities, leaving Izumi in Sokka’s care, and Sokka would go find him at the end with the biggest batch of fire gummies he could carry with his own two arms. Sokka had even suggested they stop the use of fireworks altogether, but Zuko had always replied he couldn’t do that knowing how much Izumi loved them. 

After they descended from the stairs, Izumi immediately dragged them off to the closest toy stall, begging for a new one as if she wasn’t going to be showered in new toys when dinnertime came. Sokka would say he had been a strong man and said no so he wouldn’t spoil his daughter, but then Sokka would be a liar.

Toph spent the majority of the day by the game stalls, only drifting away when Aang and Katara lured her with the promise of free food. Izumi enjoyed her extra servings of mochi that the stall vendor kept offering her free of charge, until Zuko had to put an end to it before she got a stomach ache. He also must have felt pretty generous, because he bought Sokka a large helping of extra spicy fire noodles, to which Sokka replied with a quiet thank you and a soft smile (he was sure the ‘just tell him already’ grumbling he heard from Katara was just in his imagination, though).

Dinnertime was when it all happened.

The fireworks had come and gone. Sokka hesitated at first, but took a deep breath and gathered the courage to leave Izumi with Katara and Aang and go find Zuko. As usual, he found him in his chambers, the curtains drawn to shut out the outside world, and a small candle burning on his bedside table. Zuko himself was sitting on his bed, his elbows resting on his knees and his face facing the floor. Sokka let himself in without asking permission and closed the door behind him.

“Hey,” he said quietly. He still wasn’t sure if he should have come. This year, it felt… different.

Zuko looked up at him and smiled warmly with soft eyes. Sokka’s heart may have melted a bit at the sight.

“Hey.”

Moving to sit beside him on the bed, Sokka started fidgeting with his hands. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this nervous around Zuko. To be honest, he had learned years ago how to put his romantic feelings aside. But now, after talking with Katara, it was like years of unresolved romantic feelings had burst from the little box he had tucked him into and he was a lovesick teenager again, yearning for soft touches and loving words. 

“You alright?” he ended up asking. And then, because he couldn’t help himself and was clearly an idiot, “You haven’t been around much.”

Zuko hummed, a mournful one. “Yeah. I, uh… I felt like I couldn’t.”

_ Because of Suki _ . At least Sokka had enough self-restraint to not blurt that one out.

“May I ask why?” he ended up saying.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it over it in a few days.”

_ When Suki leaves. _ Sokka wanted to scream. But they had to go to the dining hall or they would be late.

“Hopefully whatever it is hasn’t taken away your appetite.”

Another hum. This one wasn’t saying anything. It was purely an attempt at evading the question. Sokka didn’t even want to start wondering how many meals Zuko had missed during those days.

“Let’s go?”

“Yeah.”

They walked shoulder to shoulder, silently and almost awkwardly. Once they arrived at the dining hall, a familiar smell made Sokka’s heart jump, but he couldn’t place where he knew it from.

Zuko sat at the head of the table, Izumi on his right side and Iroh on his left, while Sokka took the seat on Izumi’s other side. Katara, sitting in front of him, looked at him with sympathetic eyes, but he just avoided her gaze.

“What’s that smell?” he ended up asking, hoping he’d distract Katara from him.

Instead, he found her looking pointedly at Zuko.

“It’s sea prune stew. Your favorite,” she said, still looking at Zuko with an expression that screamed ‘well?’.

Confused, Sokka turned to Zuko as well.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Zuko seemed to be looking at something very interesting on the wall to the left end of the room to look at, looking as away from Sokka as he could.

“I, uh… I asked Katara for the recipe. And if she could bring me some of the ingredients that can only be found in the South Pole. I knew it was your favorite. I went and got the rest of the ingredients yesterday, and spent the night making it.”

The room could have crumbled around Sokka and it wouldn’t have left him nearly as breathless as this had. One of his hands flew to cover his mouth, if nothing else to hide his shock.

“Is… Is this why he went to see you that night?” he asked Katara. 

She nodded. So that was why she had lied.

He was aware of everyone’s eyes on him. Well, everyone’s except Zuko’s. He could hear a faint buzzing sound, that sounded almost like his own heart beating erratically. The monster that had been eating at his stomach for the past three days was finally gone, dead and buried. And, though he’d want to deny it, a few tears found their way to his eyes and burned, begging to stream down his face.

He couldn’t say anything else. His hands and legs were shaking, and he knew his voice would be the same way. 

All he did was stand up and leave the room. What else could he do? Start crying and thank Zuko like a lovesick teenager? Or grab him and kiss him for the very first time in front of everyone, including his now-seven-year-old daughter? His best option would be to leave and deal with it once he felt collected enough.

“Sokka, wait!” Katara called out behind him, but he ignored it.

He ran out of the room, and didn’t stop running until he got to his own chambers. He barely had time to close the door behind him before his legs gave out on him and he fell to the floor.

He couldn’t tell how much time he spent that way, on his knees and staring absentmindedly into the dark room while still processing everything. 

It hadn’t even been much. It had just been a dish. But the fact that Zuko had gone to the trouble of finding the recipe and all the ingredients, and even cooking it himself, especially after Sokka had felt so…  _ neglected _ by him for the past few days had been too much for him to handle. He hadn’t been on the receiving end of romantic gestures for  _ years _ , not since long before Izumi had even been conceived, not since Suki had decided to return to Kyoshi Island. He had almost forgotten how it felt.

A tentative knock sounded against the door behind him. And then, Zuko’s soft voice.

“Sokka?”

He sounded scared.

Sokka couldn’t find it in himself to even reply, much less get up and open the door himself. Did he even want to see Zuko? Or would it make it that much harder to hide his feelings?

In the end, he didn't have a choice because Zuko opened the door anyway. Sokka heard him come inside, and, judging by the light suddenly flooding the room, Zuko was probably using some firebending to see in the dark.

"Sokka?" he called again, even quieter, if that was even possible.

Sokka looked up, and the golden eyes sparkling in the firelight that looked at him as if they were scared they would break him if they became too intense.

"Did I…" Zuko took a deep breath. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Why did you do it?" Sokka asked, his voice barely more than a broken whisper. "Find the recipe, buy the ingredients, spend the night _cooking_ it."

"What do you mean? I thought you'd like it."

Sokka finally found it in himself to stand up and face Zuko. Zuko seemed startled by his sudden burst of confidence.

"You did it because you love me, didn't you."

It wasn't a question. But still Zuko didn't reply.

"You love me," Sokka pressed on.

The silence was deafening.


	7. Chapter 7

“You love me.”

No reply. 

“You  _ love _ me.”

“Sokka--”

“You love me.”

“What are you--”

“You love me.”

“Why--”

“You love me.”

“Sokka, pl--”

“You love me.”

“STOP,” Zuko bellowed.

Sokka didn’t even flinch.

“Do you enjoy this!?” Zuko asked, agitated. His voice was trembling, and his hands didn’t seem able to stand still. The fire on his left hand looked close to going out. “Do you enjoy torturing me!? Playing with my feelings!?”

“ _ I’m _ the one playing with your feelings!? You’re the one who ignored and avoided me for  _ days _ because you were jealous that Suki was here, and then spent La knows how long preparing my favorite dish, which I know for a fact takes  _ hours _ to cook!”

Zuko’s face was red. And Sokka couldn’t tell if it was from blushing or from the agitation.

“Yes!” Zuko ended up shouting. “Yes, I love you. Of course I love you. But you don’t want anything with me, you’ve made that perfectly clear already, so why are you pushing me now!?”

Sokka frowned. “What do you mean?” he asked, his voice much softer all of a sudden. “Zuko, what are you talking about?”

He watched as Zuko’s eyes fell to the ground, looking almost defeated. He then moved to sit on the bed, as he brought his left hand to the candle on the table so he could light it and finally free his hands of firebending. Sokka couldn’t urge his body to move, even if he wanted it to.

“You told me to forget,” Zuko mumbled. “I could never have forgotten it even if I wanted to. But you seemed to forget it easily, and I couldn’t bear to be the one who couldn’t move on when you so clearly already had.”

“I… Zuko, I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand what you’re talking about right now. What did I ask you to forget?”

“That night?” He seemed almost incredulous. “You decided we should get drunk, and then the next morning you asked me to forget everything.”

Oh. That night? Nothing important had happened. Sokka had gotten drunk enough to last a lifetime, had embarrassed himself in front of all his friends and a few dignitaries, had decided to use Momo as a ventriloquist puppet, and then somehow had proceeded to fall asleep in Zuko’s bed.

“Zuko…” he sighed. He felt at such a loss, seeing Zuko look so broken in front of him, so he chose to move to sit next to him, their shoulders barely brushing against each other. “All I asked you to forget was how much of a fool I was acting in front of everyone. I asked the Earth Kingdom Ambassador ‘what’s rolling’. I had Momo on my lap and pulled its tail so it would open its mouth and I could pretend it was talking. What does that have to do with anything?”

Zuko’s head snapped up, his astounded eyes meeting Sokka’s. “Are you serious? You really don’t remember what happened after?”

“I’m sorry…” Sokka chuckled awkwardly and moved his hand to scratch the back of his neck. “I just remember you forcing me to let go of Momo and starting to walk me back to my quarters. Everything after that is a blank.”

“Oh…”

Sokka found enough courage in himself to place one hand on top of Zuko’s. “What happened? What did I do?”

“Well… like you said, I tried to walk you back to your chambers. But you, uh, you kept whining you didn’t want to, you didn’t want to leave me, so I, uh… I brought you back to my own chambers. I figured it was the next best thing.”

He kept quiet for a bit after that. Sokka squeezed his hand lightly to encourage him to continue.

“You…” Zuko chuckled softly. “You jumped on my bed and forced me to lie with you. So I lied down, and then you looked at me, and you started crying. A lot, actually. Once I finally calmed you down, you… you told me you loved me. That you’d loved me for years but didn’t have the courage to tell me.”

Sokka felt his breath catch in his throat. He had confessed to Zuko? All these years, Zuko had known how he felt.

“And then?” he breathed out, his voice barely more than a whisper.

“And then you turned around, threw up on my floor and promptly fell asleep after that.”

That explained the bad taste left in his mouth when he woke up.

“I cleaned it up and let you sleep. Then the next morning, I… I had gathered all my courage to confess back to you. But you… you asked me to forget everything. You broke my heart.”

Sokka felt his eyes burning again, and this time his tears found a way to stream down his face.

“Zuko…”

Words didn’t feel like enough right now. He felt like all he could do to show how horribly sorry he felt was to lean towards Zuko and hug him as tightly as his arms would allow him. How could he have caused Zuko such an unbearable amount of pain and not even realize it? How could he have been so cruel.

“I’m so, so,  _ so _ sorry…” he whispered against Zuko’s neck. 

Zuko seemed to hesitate at first, but then moved to hug Sokka back, and even tentatively kissed him just below the ear. Sokka’s heart fluttered at the affection.

“I promise you I never meant to hurt you… I honestly don’t remember confessing to you. Zuko, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

He hummed against Sokka’s neck. “I just thought you didn’t want to be with me due to our…  _ differences _ before I turned on my father. I thought you couldn’t get over that side of me. And after I thought that maybe you just didn’t want to be with me since I was about to become a father, and you couldn’t deal with that. Everytime you left on a trip after that night, I really thought you wouldn’t come back. But then I saw the way you lit up when you saw Izumi for the first time, and I guess I wasn’t as worried about you leaving. But you asked me to forget, so I never brought it up again.”

“Zuko.” Sokka pulled back a bit so he could look Zuko in the eyes, bringing his hands up to cup his cheeks. “You are so far from the truth. I haven’t held you against those actions of yours ever since you came with me to the Boiling Rock. And you being a father was never a reason for me not to love you; very much the opposite, actually. I think being a family with you and Izumi just made me fall in love with you all over again. I never said anything, because, well, at first you were with Mai, and I wasn’t going to put you in that position. And then you broke up, and I almost gathered the courage to do it, but Mai came back pregnant and I couldn’t bear to just add onto your plate. And after… I guess I just kept making up excuses. That you had an entire nation to run, and a daughter to care for. That I didn’t want to ruin our family by confessing when you didn’t feel the same and making everything awkward. That why should I be selfish and want even more when I had everything I could ever wish for already.” Sokka sighed. “Tui and La, I really made a mess of things, didn’t I?”

Zuko’s eyes had slowly turned glossy from the tears while Sokka spoke, reflecting the firelight so beautifully. Sokka felt as if he were melting under Zuko’s affectionate stare.

“I can’t believe…” Zuko breathed out. “All these years, I thought… I thought… I don’t even know what I thought. I can’t believe I let this misunderstanding drag on for over seven years.”

Sokka couldn’t help but lean his forehead against Zuko’s, chuckling softly through the tears that kept spilling from his eyes.

“ _ I _ can’t believe how much of an idiot I am. I am a walking cliché, confessing my love while drunk. And then forgetting about it? La, I really am a dumbass.”

Zuko let out a soft hum, a quietly amused one that made Sokka tingle on the inside. He kept caressing Zuko’s cheeks, still staring into his  _ beautiful _ golden eyes. A single tear finally spilled from them, and, before Sokka could be aware of what he was going, he had leaned forward and pressed his lips against Zuko’s. 

This time, Zuko didn’t hesitate before returning the gesture.

Through all the years, Sokka had imagined time and time again how their first kiss it would be. He had expected fireworks to explode inside of him, he had expected to hear romantic music in the background, he had expected a kiss so mind-blowing that it numbed his entire being to all other sensations for the rest of his life.

He was wrong. The kiss didn’t feel explosive, or lyrical, or mind-blowing. It felt pure.

It felt like finally coming home.

Zuko’s lips were soft against his, a bit afraid, but loving nonetheless. His hands had found their way to the back of his hair that he kept shaved and slowly caressed him there, while Sokka kept his on Zuko’s cheeks.

Once they pulled away, Sokka spoke. He was going to do it right at least once.

“Zuko, I have been in love with you for  _ years _ . I can’t tell you how many years exactly, I just know that somewhere along the way I stopped thinking of this city as my job, and you became my home. You’re my family now, have been for years. You and Izumi. And I had come to terms with the fact that the only relationship between you and me would be a family one. But now… now I  _ really _ want to try pursuing a different kind of relationship.”

Zuko nodded. “Yeah.” His voice sounded breathless. “I want that as well.”

They kissed again.

“We, uh… we should get back soon,” Sokka sighed once they pulled away. He didn’t want to have to burst the bubble already, he was finally getting the one thing his heart had craved for years. But everyone had seen his outburst and would be wondering where they were. Not to mention it was still Izumi’s birthday and he didn’t want her to feel neglected by both her fathers.

Zuko hummed. “If nothing else, because I spent so long preparing a stew only you and your sister like. I don’t want to see it go to waste after having Toph tell me I smell like an abandoned fish market.”

Sokka smiled at him and realized he hadn’t thanked him for his gesture yet. He opted for a short but sweet kiss. “We’ll talk more once Izumi has gone to bed.”

A hum.

Taking a deep breath, Sokka forced himself to stand up and offered his hand to Zuko. Zuko took it, and then pulled on it to bring Sokka in for another kiss. Sokka chuckled quietly, but didn’t have any objections.

“Here,” he said, reaching up his other hand covered by a sleeve so he could wipe the few tears on Zuko’s face, before moving to do the same to himself. 

He then moved to leave the chambers, but Zuko pulled at his hand and didn’t let him move.

“Should we tell them?” he asked. “Or should we keep this to ourselves for a while?”

“I mean, we could keep it secret for the time being. But you do know Toph can sense when we’re lying, don’t you?”

“I doubt someone will ask ‘so did you too finally confess your feelings and clear up a years-long misunderstanding’, so I think we’ll be alright.”

Sokka chuckled, but nodded and once more moved to leave the chambers. This time Zuko didn’t pull him back. He had to let go of Zuko’s hand on the way so it wouldn’t raise suspicion.

Once they entered the dining hall, everyone’s eyes were immediately on the both of them--except for Toph, who was just happily munching on some dumplings. Sokka gave them a small smile, as an assurance that everything was alright, but that didn’t invite any questions.

A sea prune stew had never tasted so heavenly in his life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry for taking so long to finish this. i don't really have a reason, just no ending ever seemed good enough
> 
> i do truly hope you like it

Sokka closed the book of fairytales and tried to set it on the bedside table without knocking anything over--wouldn’t be the first time he did it, really. From the corner of his eye, he saw Zuko already standing up and gently pulling the blankets over Izumi’s shoulders, with a fond smile on his face as he looked down at her. Despite being dead tired by the end of her birthday dinner, she had still insisted her fathers read her a bedtime story. Sokka had had to avoid laughing, as he looked at her mid-reading and saw her widening her eyes as far as they went to try and keep them open and avoid falling asleep.

He followed Zuko out of the room and closed the door behind the two of them. At first he hesitated, but then decided that after ten years of hesitating, enough was enough. So he took a step forward, placed one hand on each of Zuko’s shoulders, and kissed him quickly, but softly. When he pulled away, Zuko had a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Do you… do you want to spend the night with me?” he asked. When he noticed Sokka arching an eyebrow, about to crack a joke, he rushed to add, “ _ Don’t even _ . I’m talking about sleeping only.”

Sokka chuckled quietly. “Yes, I’d like that. Your room, though. Your sheets are so much better than mine, it’s not even fair.”

“I know I much I pay you, and I know you can very easily afford sheets like those. You could’ve gotten some by now. Should I just gift them to you?”

“Why bother, I can just sleep in yours from now on.”

Zuko hummed happily, his lips quirking into a small smile. “Yes. I suppose you can.”

They walked silently back to Zuko’s chambers, the back of their hands softly brushing against one another every once in a while. Somehow, with each step, with each soft brush, with each soft smile he saw on Zuko’s lips when he glanced up, whatever leftover worries and insecurities Sokka had deep inside him seemed to dissipate. Maybe not forever, but for now it was good enough.

They both nodded at Soyo, stationed as usual outside of Zuko’s rooms, before entering and closing the door behind them. Since they had shared a close relationship between the two of them even before that night, entering each other’s rooms at odd hours didn’t really spark suspicions between the staff. Or maybe, like Katara and the rest of their friends, they all truly believed they were already together.

“I’m so tired,” Sokka sighed, not even bothering to take off any clothing before falling backwards on the bed. He wiggled his feet against the bed frame to get his boots off and pulled the covers over him. “This was the most emotionally draining week of my life.”

Zuko, on the other hand, had moved to stand in front of his chest of drawers so he could look in the mirror hanging above it and remove his hair decorations. Sokka could see his regretful expression from the mirror’s reflection.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko whispered, letting his eyes fall to the headpiece on his hands. “I was… childish and immature. Worse than that, even. I shouldn’t have avoided you, or Suki for that matter. I just knew you hadn’t seen her since you ended things, and I… I don’t even know.”

“Were worried I’d fall in love with her all over again and run off to Kyoshi island?” Sokka finished, his eyebrow arched.

With a hum, Zuko nodded slowly. Sokka then pushed off the covers and got off the bed so he could take large steps towards Zuko, ignoring the cold of the floor against his bare feet, and put his arms firmly around him, his chest pressed against Zuko’s back. He started into his eyes through the mirror’s reflection.

“It’s you and me now, Zuko,” was all he said. There wasn’t any need to say anything else.

Zuko leaned into his embrace and hummed, much more contently than before, and Sokka kissed the top of his head.

“Should we tell them?” Zuko ended up asking after a few beats, before moving his hands to his hair to continue putting it down. “I mean, I’m sure they can mostly guess after your massive outburst--”

“Hey, do not mock my outburst!” Sokka huffed. “But we’ll do whatever you want to do. Apparently they all thought we were together already, so it’s not like we’ll be giving them new information.”

Zuko frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, apparently,  _ someone _ told Katara they were in love with me and everyone else decided to fill in the gaps. Your uncle bet on us getting engaged this week.”

“Oh. Yeah. I forgot about telling Katara that.”

They moved to the bed as Zuko started shedding his outer layers. Sokka sighed, but did the same despite just wanting to get under the covers to be warm and cosy.

“When was that?” he asked, finally getting to sit down for good on the bed with Zuko to his right.

“The morning after your confession, actually. You were still asleep, and I went out to get you some breakfast and something for the hangover, and I ran into her. She asked me why I was so happy, and I told her I was finally going to confess to you. I… I didn’t have the heart to tell her you rejected me after. Or at least what I thought was a rejection then.”

Sokka put an arm around Zuko’s shoulders and pulled him close. Zuko’s skin was almost always slightly warmer than a regular person’s, and the feeling was extraordinary at washing away the weight of the previous days.

“Well, I guess Katara took your silence to mean we had gotten together. So if we do tell them, all we’re doing is giving them the information they thought they got years ago.”

“I’m actually more worried about telling Izumi,” Zuko confessed, his lips brushing against the skin of Sokka’s arm. “While I do think that this, whatever this is, is  _ it _ , I don’t want to be wrong and get her hopes and crush her. She’s too young for that.”

He kissed the top of Zuko’s head. “We’ll get this settled first. Find out what this is and how to navigate it. And, once we know, we’ll tell her.”

Zuko hummed with a soft smile. “Yeah.”

Sokka moved his left hand to play with the ends of Zuko’s hair. Despite being exhausted and wanting to sleep nonstop for the next three months, he also didn’t want that moment to end. He just wanted to lie there, both of them content and enjoying each other’s company. How many years had he waited and yearned for this moment, after all? He couldn’t just end it so soon.

“When are you leaving?” Zuko finally asked after a few moments, breaking the silence.

_ Oh _ . Right. Every time Aang and Katara visited for someone’s birthday, Sokka always left with them for the South Pole, both to visit his homeland without having to worry about travel costs, and also to spend more time with Katara, since he had made a home in the Fire Nation and she was always off accompanying Aang in whatever the hell ‘Avatar duties’ meant, meaning they very rarely got the chance to spend significant time with each other.

That also meant he would be leaving Zuko just mere days after they had finally figured everything out and were finally in a good place. But, well, he missed his dad, and Bato, and the whole Southern Water Tribe. He didn’t want to wait months before being able to visit again.

“A couple of days from now, I guess.” Sokka sighed. “I think Aang still wants to stick around some more before heading off.”

Zuko nodded with a hum, probably considering the conversation finished, and Sokka wondered if the thought of him leaving also made him upset.

“Why don’t you come?” he ended up asking.

“Uh?” Zuko ever-so-gracefully said, turning his head back to look in his eyes.

“Why don’t you and Izumi come with us? You haven’t been there since, well, since you tried to kidnap a kid - good job on that, by the way -, and Izumi’s never been there to begin with.”

“Okay.”

Sokka arched an eyebrow. “Okay? Seriously? I was expecting the need for a whole lot of begging and bribing and maybe even some tears! How come you accepted so easily?”

“You seem to grossly overestimate my ability to refuse you.”

With a fond smile, Sokka leaned in to kiss the top of Zuko’s head and felt him blush by the heat suddenly irradiating against the skin of his arm as Zuko buried his face into the crook of Sokka’s elbow.

“Then it’s settled. I’ll go with Izumi into town tomorrow to find her warmer clothing.”

Zuko hummed. “I’ll probably have to go with you. Haven’t gone to either pole in a few years now, I doubt my old parkas would fit me. I’ll have Kaja start packing for Izumi while we’re there.”

Feeling completely content in this moment, Sokka finally lied back down on the bed and, with Zuko pressed against his chest, finally let himself fall asleep.

* * *

Apparently, a fully grown son and a very-but-not-extremely pregnant daughter weren’t big enough to deter Hakoda from pulling both of them into a very tight hug. And, not that Sokka would make fun of it later, but Katara did have a couple tears slip from her eyes and down her cheeks.

“You kids need to visit home more often,” he chastised.

“Sorry, dad.” Katara moved to kiss his cheek.

“We did bring you something you’ll like, though.” Sokka gave him a massive smile.

Sokka moved to the side, so his dad could see behind him, where Zuko was helping Izumi get down from Appa.

“You finally brought her?” Dad asked, though he wasn’t even looking at Sokka anymore, his eyes fixed on his granddaughter with a fond smile on his lips. He hadn’t seen her since last year, on his yearly trip to Caldera to ‘check on Sokka’.

“Yeah. We figured she was finally old enough to deal with the long travel time.”

Once Izumi was on the ground, she completely ignored Zuko’s hand, who was trying to reach for her to keep her steady on the snow and close to him, and ran off in their direction, waddling adorably as she adjusted to the extra layers of clothing and the subsequent added weight as well as the different ground under her feet.

“Gramp-Gramp!” she squealed.

Hakoda kneeled down to hug her. “Hey, kiddo. I missed you.”

Zuko made his way to them as well, settling next to Sokka. 

They hadn’t told anyone yet--not really. Katara had taken one look at them and Sokka knew from her smile she just  _ knew _ , while Aang had remained as clueless to everything around him as he always had been. And they  _ definitely _ had not told Izumi yet, trying to act as inconspicuous as they possibly could. Despite all that, Sokka was sure rumors were soaring in the Palace. As close as he and Zuko had been before everything, he knew he had spent one too many nights in Zuko’s chambers to get away with it.

After Zuko and Hakoda had greeted each other--and Sokka definitely had wanted to laugh at how stiff Zuko was, now that he was actively hiding something from his maybe-future father-in-law--Katara stepped towards Sokka and leaned up to whisper in his ear.

“Aang and Dad can handle the luggage; why don’t you show Zuko Izume around?”

Sokka thanked her with a kiss on her forehead and moved to kneel down next to Izumi. “Do you want to see your Daddy's old home?” he asks. Once Izumi nods enthusiastically, Sokka picks her up and turns his eyes to Zuko, motioning with his head to tell him to go with him.

They walked side by side through the village for a bit, with Sokka pointing out the few familiar places that remained after a decade of rebuilding and of the village finally thriving, to the point the small cluster of igloos and huts that Zuko had seen a decade before, result of a hundred years of devastation, was now a massive city, full of life and happiness.

Through the corner of his eye, Sokka could see sparks sometimes leaving Zuko’s mouth, as he tried to keep himself warm with his firebending. He couldn’t help the fond smile that took over his face.

"Come here," he said, as he recognized the place they were in. He reached out to grab Zuko by his shoulder with one hand to adjust his position so he'd stand in the exact spot Sokka wanted. "There!"

Zuko quirked an eyebrow. "May I ask?"

"Of course! This," Sokka said, holding out his free arm to gesture to the scenery around them, "is where we met. The exact spot you kicked my head so hard I'm still not entirely convinced I didn't get permanent damage."

"Hm." An amused smile accompanied his light hum. "Somehow doesn't sound very romantic."

"Nothing's more romantic than someone who could easily kick my ass but chooses to give me kisses instead." Sokka winked at him.

"In that case, I should oblige you." 

Zuko took a step forward to press a sweet kiss against Sokka's cheek, mindful of Izumi still being held up by Sokka, leaving him sighing in content and having him melt against his embrace.

"I do wish we had a different history," Zuko confessed. "At least the beginning. I don't mind the end as much."

Sokka laughed. "Who cares. We got here, that's what it matters. You still got the hunk in the end."

Zuko looked at him fondly, and reached up to caress his cheek. "I did. It's you and me now, right?" he asked, echoing Sokka's words from just a few days earlier.

"It's you and me now." Sokka leaned his forehead against Zuko's.

His heart warmed. He had gotten his happy ending at last.


End file.
